Brandon Aiyuk: 'We're All on the Same Mission Here' | Press Pass

In the regular season mode now or is it been that way since yeah started?

Uh, I mean today was like you can't practice, so not really not really still I mean still.

Just the mindset, same mindset.

You're pretty close with Trey Lance up throughout last off season.

Have you spoken to him since his departure.

Yeah, I saw him.

I saw him for the game, and I saw him yesterday as well, So yeah, I saw Yeah, I think uh, I think he was good. I think it was in a like some weight was lifted off of him. It looked like to me. But I think he's in the give spot.

Did weird seeing him on a on a team that.

You know has been competing with you guys in the playoffs for NFC supremacy. Yeah, for sure, for sure. But we all know how it goes. That's the that's the craziness of this league.

We know how it is.

But yeah, for sure seeing him in a in a cowboy uniform is different. Seeing the edges and stuff on social media is a little bit a little bit weird, but for sure happy for him.

Yeah.

Are you looking forward to finally getting into a real game in about ten days?

Yeah? Yeah.

The last two the last two preseason games, just getting a feel for like game day, like how it is the night before, how it is waking up in the morning, going down on the field warming up. In the last two games, got a little taste of that, so but excited now for the real thing coming up here in a little bit.

One more thing on Trey. How much I guess do you credit him working with you in the off season's last two off seasons to kind of help you raise your game?

I think, just, uh, what do you mean by that?

What do you mean you guys did a lot of work beside just here, but you know, away from the facility during the.

Summers or springs. I mean, how much ex did that help your career advance?

Oh? Just uh, we just watching him like he came in.

Knowing how to work, being able to structure his own off season structure, everything, so just being able to be alongside him, uh, kind of flow with him as well. So I'll take I definitely credit him for that. The way that he is in terms of offense, like a quarterback. You know how quarterbacks are in terms of getting ready to come into training camp.

So stuff like that.

Credit to him, But he's on his own past. Now we're on different paths now, and we're just focused on people in this building and myself right now.

Should you have any sense something like that could happen or or were you sort of surprised by it?

Uh? Not really surprised.

Uh, I mean it's still surprising just cause it's a close friend of mine that he came in.

He came in here after me.

I've been with him this on tart time and then to see him go and what two seasons? Yeah, yes, so I would say surprisingly can that standpoint, But just in terms of how stuff goes, I can understand how it goes, and I understand the competitor that he is, so he wants to compete and go out there and give a chance to show who he is to.

Himself into the world. So not surprising that aspect.

In terms of the competitiveness of training camp.

Uh.

You you've had several now with this team offense versus defense. How do you think this year stacked up, uh to to to.

Your previous seasons? Just for myself or just for the team?

Probably?

Oh, probably for both. I think this all it's a little bit different just cause when you when you understand like what to when you know what to expect and how stuff goes. It's a little bit different, but I think we had a great camp from the competition wise, from the defensive side of things versus the offense. From our our unit, especially the receiver unit. We feel like we came in from day one and just continue to stack up until whatever the last twenty one I think

So excited for that.

Rays Or have you looked at all at at Patrick Peterson and and Joey Porter junior and and obviously you got some history with Peterson, I would.

Imagine that yeah, we say, yeah, we seen Peterson a couple of times up here. We saw him up here in twenty in twenty one, I think we saw him last year as well, and joint practices, and then I've seen some stuff from their young corner, uh like on social media and stuff, but I haven't got into it yet, So we'll look at that. Watch the preseason game of those guys lash last week. They did a good job, uh spec and the receivers over there did a good job too, So I'm excited for the matchup.

It's gonna be fun, but we know it's gonna be h.

We're kicking this thing off right away and we're getting to it, so it'll be fun.

Your experience, what what is the difference between the college wide receiver and the NFL wide receiver.

I mean just the urgency, just the urgency about everything. It's a different urgency that you have to play with, that you have to approach the game with, that you have to study with, and just realize how fast stuff move, stuff moves, how fast people move, how stuff everything moves. Uh So, if I would say, yeah, one word, I'll say, urgency's in a lot.

He's doing a great job. He's in a great job. He's in a great job.

He's, like I said, speaking on our unit earlier, he's pushed our unit forward as well in a good way coming out here, hand on this business in the preseason game, going out there and practice every single day. I've seen a lot of rooky receivers coming in here and not be able to including myself, include not be able to handle whether it's the grind of a whole entire training

He's keeping more prepared mentally.

Maybe absolutely absolutely credit to him himself coming in ready to go.

Is this is this week? Like? Is it? Is it weird at all? You know, you it's kind of a light week and then you've got time off before the you know, the the first week to ramp up at How do you sort of deal with that that sort of weird time.

Yeah, I'm trying. We're still trying to figure it out.

I mean, I think a lot of us mighta woke up today thinking that today was like like what you're saying, the light week which we were in for surprise today,

What was your first camp with Christian McCaffrey, like I asked, because it seems that he brought NonStop energy every day that he that he was out there.

Oh yeah, this our first time with our first time with c mac.

He got to cause he he came in whatever KC whatever week that was, so we didn't have camp with them, and then we didn't really get to grind with him last year. This year him coming in, he gets to see how we go about stuff and even bring his own hisn't like you said, his own energy to to the team and bring us all together and like I.

Said, push everybody forward. So I think that's what he did.

See he has a lot of depth on the corner.

Uh, give me your thoughts on Jambis and the rookie out of Texas.

What's he looking like to.

You, he looked good. I think he looked early on.

He came out early on, he looked good.

I think to me personally, he's been quiet. That's my dog. That's that's my dog.

Uh.

He been quiet a little bit the past few He had a good play in the game preseason game that he needs to finish. But we all have stuff that we need to finish. So I think he's in a good spot to continue to work. Like we had another day out there today to go out there and rewrite the last thing for ourselves. And as long as he has that mindset, I think he'll be just fine.

How thou chez damdor. Leanor's who he changed from last year this year?

I think the confidence he was.

He was calling me uh in the off season saying that he was working on new stuff and he's grinding and he's.

Licking up dudes.

But he he he's I think he's I feel like he became a professional this year, going out there every single day on top of his on top of his stuff, grind him working, bringing energy to the defense, and like I pushing us forward.

So yeah, h I somewat of a heavy question for you. You you lobausly more comfortable, you know, like talking to us and just do general which is maybe gopture. How you been in the NFL for a while, but you maybe a year or two ago, SI your trust issues, uh, your indication even in though maybe around here, has that changed?

How?

How have you grown u as a person and you know at the bonds you formed here you have changed you anyway?

Uh.

I think just kind of understanding how stuff goes, getting to know people, people getting to know me and just understand. I think, Oh, I think are a lot of miscommunications came from not understand each other.

So I think now.

I've I've put out who I am every single day, so and they and the people around this building, I put out who are they are every single day, So we pretty much we understand that.

And as long as we know that, uh, who.

We are and what we're here to do every single day, I think a lot of stuff other than that can can be worked with. But we're all on the same mission here. We're all trying to go for one goal. But obvious, yeah, I just growing up. I'm I came in the league at twenty one, I'm twenty five now, So just growth, getting older, being more comfortable, being not being scared to be myself, just being myself.

Yeah, was that.

Maybe the beginning of your career happened during the COVID and all that kind of mm uncertainty.

Yeah yeah, yeah, that was a long time ago, but yeah, good, appreciate it.